As a rule, compressors for air-conditioning systems are driven via a multi-V belt by the crank shaft of a combustion engine. When the compressor is blocked, the belt slips through and, as a rule, is destroyed. Thereby, the other power train elements in the same belt drive are no longer driven. In the most unfavorable case, the steering booster fails. To counteract this condition, at least one of the torque-transmitting elements must include a predetermined break-off function, which under unusual operational torque nullifies the connection between pulley and compressor shaft. The pulley subsequently provides for a continued functional belt drive without the driving compressor.
DE 198 60 150 A1 describes inter alia an arrangement in which a catch of a synthetic material is fixedly connected with a hub. One disadvantage is that the predetermined break-off function is provided exclusively by the connection between synthetic material and hub and therefore is highly temperature dependent. Furthermore, the state of ageing of the synthetic material also affects the breaking of the predetermined break-off locus, such that by all accounts, the predetermined break-off function is subject to wide statistical scattering.